Winged Hope
by Tyra Kaelar
Summary: The war between light and dark hit full force in Harry’s 6th year and since then the war has been deadlocked, with neither side gaining any advantage over the other. But now, with one mistake on Voldemort’s part, the light will be given a chance *slash*


**TITLE: **_Winged Hope_

**AUTHOR: **_Tyra Kaelar_

**WARNING: **_Slash (Male/Male), AU, Crossover_

**DISCLAIMER: **_I don't own anything from Harry Potter or Gundam Wing, though god don't I wish I did…_

**SUMMARY: **_The war between light and dark hit full force in Harry's 6__th__ year and since then the fighting has been non-stop, with neither side gaining any real advantage over the other. But now, with one mistake on Voldemort's part, Harry is about to meet someone he never should have, someone who may just give the light the advantage they need to defeat the dark once and for all._

Chapter One

_October 30__th__, 1998 – Hogwarts_

Harry slowly trudged up the stairs to the Headmaster's office, knowing most of the Order members as well as his team would already be there. These meetings were being called more and more frequently as the Order struggled to hold back Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He paused outside the door, gathering the patience these meetings always seemed to require and entered the room.

"Harry, my dear boy, glad you could make it," Dumbledore spoke cheerfully.

_As if I could skip it, _Harry thought sarcastically. Not only was he a member of the Order, he had to be here for his team. Speaking of which, he quickly glanced around, making eye contact with his team members. Ron and Hermione, sitting on a love seat to the left, hands clasped together. He smiled faintly. Everyone had seen that one coming. They had gotten married last year, knowing that they had to savor every moment they had together with the uncertainty of war surrounding them. He quickly hand signed Ron for any updates, getting a negative back from him on anything urgent. Ron was his tactician, playing chess with real people now, while Hermione continued to use her intelligence as their researcher and spell creator. His eyes left them, carrying on to the next team members. Neville and Luna – now there was a pairing he hadn't seen coming. They had gotten together at the beginning of 6th year, just before war had broken out, and they meshed together surprisingly well. Luna gave Neville the confidence he needed and in return he grounded Luna.

They had actually found out that Luna was a seer and an empath on her 16th birthday. It was part of the reason she had always been so spacey. Now she was grounded through training, Neville, and their team, she was much more focused.

Finally his eyes came to rest on the final two team members of his team – Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley. Now that had been a shocker. If someone had told him two years ago that not only would he and Draco be working on the same side, let alone on the same team, he would have broken down laughing hysterically. The fact that he now considered Draco just as close a friend as the other five members of his team just made it funnier. Draco was even his second in command. They worked well together too, Draco's ice balancing out Harry's fire. Draco had offered another huge surprise just a year later as well – he'd asked Ginny out on a date and now one year later they were engaged to be married this coming Christmas. Draco still got ribbed occasionally about the brat he'd been in school.

Harry noticed Draco raising an eyebrow at him, silently asking what was so funny. Harry's smirk just deepened as he shifted his gaze between the two of them. Draco caught on immediately and scowled playfully, rolling his eyes as he brought his arm around Ginny and pulled her tight against his side.

So far his team had remained remarkably untouched by the war, though the same could not be said of all of their families. Many Order members had fallen in the last two years and the light and the dark were basically deadlocked in a stalemate. Among those lost had been Hestia Jones, Amos Diggory, Kingsley Shackelbolt, and Charlie Weasley to name a few. They had also lost Percy when he became a death eater.

"Alright, if we could all settle down, let's get this meeting underway," Dumbledore spoke, his voice quickly quieting the low murmuring of the room. "Now does anyone have any urgent information to share?"

Remus cleared his throat, drawing the room's attention to him as he stood. "The last of the packs have decided to join Voldemort. The recent registration laws by the Ministry were the last straw. The vampires, too, for the most part have sided with Voldemort, though some of the older clans have decided to remain neutral. The centaurs are still abstaining as well."

Harry sighed quietly at the news, absentmindedly observing the toll the last couple of years had taken on his surrogate uncle, weariness lining his features along with the premature lines and grey hairs his curse had given to him. The way this war was going, no news always seemed to be good news. Two years and the war seemed just as deadlocked as it had in the beginning.

As the meeting continued more and more sparkle left Dumbledore's eyes as the bad news kept piling up.

Everyone's attention shifted to the door as a knock resounded through the room.

"Come in, Severus," Dumbledore called, a faint smile alighting on his lips.

Harry smirked at Snape as he came through the door scowling. He couldn't help but antagonize him; it was just hilarious to watch him get worked up. They had never really improved their relationship at all, but Harry no longer let Severus' comments bother him and made a running joke of how easily he could get him worked up. Dumbledore wasn't very impressed with either of them, but he'd given up trying to forge a relationship between them.

Severus seemed to be in an even worse temper than normal as he scowled at everyone in the room.

"How was the meeting my boy? Any news?" Dumbledore asked, a hint of concern threading his voice.

"Delightful as always, Albus," Snape sneered. "He's decided to celebrate Halloween this year with multiple attacks across the country."

"Do you know the locations of the expected attacks, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, the seriousness of the situation quickly settling over the Order.

"Not all of them, he's apparently been keeping this attack pretty quiet since this is the first I've heard of it, and it's happening tomorrow night. There are at least 10 teams going out by the sound of it, but the only locations he mentioned at the meeting are Diagon Alley, Devon, and Hogsmead.

"Well, we'll have to pick the most likely targets and send out our own groups to defend against the Death Eaters," Dumbledore spoke slowly, stroking his beard in thought. "Other likely targets would be Ottery St. Catchpole, Godric's Hollow, possibly the Ministry, and Whisper Lane. Does anyone have any preference for where they are sent?"

Harry surveyed the room with jaded eyes as everyone began whispering, anxiousness permeating the atmosphere. _You'd think they'd all be used to this by now, _he thought scornfully, _yet you still can't get more than half the Order to say Voldemort's name without stuttering._ Harry caught a hand signal out of the corner of his eye and immediately switched his attention to focus on Neville. He arched an eyebrow, silently asking for the message.

Luna saw something, Neville signed back, she says it's not clear why, but we should take Devon.

Harry nodded slightly before raising his land lazily. "We'll be taking Devon, sir."

Dumbledore nodded happily. "Alright, does anyone else have a preference?"

The meeting continued on for another hour, details being hammered out for the strikes tomorrow evening, and teams organized. Harry's team was one of the only permanent teams on the light side, while other teams were created depending on the skills needed for the current mission.

"Alright," Dumbledore said, rising to his feet, "If that's everything, we'll bring the meeting to a close and I'll see you all here tomorrow night."

As everyone rose to their feet and began filing out the door or flooing home, Harry hand signaled his team to meet in the Room of Requirement. The Order meeting might be over, but the Marauder strike team meeting was just getting started.

*****

Harry waited patiently in his chair as his friends settled down. It was still hard to believe they'd all become such close friends, almost more like family. Since they'd truly become a team, they'd all moved into an apartment suite within Hogwarts to make things easier on themselves. Almost the entire Order lived within Hogwarts since it had closed down. Seeing that they'd all mostly settled, Harry cleared his throat, grabbing their attention.

"Talon," Harry said, immediately slipping into his role as leader of the strike group, "do you have anything to add as to why we are needed in Devon?"

Luna's usually dreamy gaze was now clear and focused as she reported. "No, Tyr, I just know that it's important for us to be there, particularly for **you** to be there - something that's meant to happen. I can't get anything clearer."

Harry sighed. Great, something that was meant to happen. Well, hopefully it wouldn't end up being a complete disaster. Unfortunately, fate had a funny way of coming back to bite him in the arse. "Alright, if that's the best we can do. Paws, I'll need you to come up with several scenarios for us, in case it all goes to hell and we need to get out of Dodge."

Ron nodded seriously, already going over several plans in his mind. He'd become one of the best tacticians on the light side, often being the key player between a win and a loss.

"Flight, any new spells that might help us out on this mission?"

Hermione nodded, leaning forward in anticipation, her eyes sparkling with the thrill of discovery. "You know how I've been trying to come up with a way to link us through our rings?"

Harry nodded, along with the rest of his team. When they'd first become a team, they'd decided to create something to symbolize it. Each of them now wore a heavy gold ring set with a unique gem in the center, their family crest on right side, and their school house crest on the left side. As well, they had gotten a quote inscribed on the inside of each band – _Bonded through Blood - _symbolizing the ties that held them together. Most of them never took their rings off and Harry had been feeling almost naked without it the last two weeks, as Hermione had taken them for an experiment.

"I finally figured out how! It actually wasn't nearly as complicated as I'd feared. Using runes combined with several different potions – "

"Flight," Harry interrupted jokingly, "skip the tech speak and lay it out quickly, 'kay?" Harry smiled when Hermione huffed under her breath as she crossed her arms, still reminding him of the precocious girl he's met in first year.

"Fine!" Basically, I've bonded each of you to your rings through blood, and then bound the rings to each other. When you're wearing them all you'll have to do is focus on a specific person and you should get a faint idea on how that person is doing. All you'll really be able to tell is if they're in any distress, though of course the stronger it is the more clearly you'll feel it. As well…" She paused a moment before grimly carrying on, "you'll be able to tell is someone when someone is killed almost immediately as the ring will go cold for several minutes."

They all winced at the reminder that they could so easily lose each other. Still, they'd been together now for two years, training and fighting, and while each had their own area of expertise, training together had given them all more than a passing familiarity with each other's skills. Hopefully that would be enough to get them through this war unscathed.

"Alright, good to know Flight, and thank you. I assume everyone can have their rings back now?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ron chuckled as Hermione blushed slightly, leaning forward to place the rings on the coffee table in the centre. Harry reached for his ring along with everyone else, sliding his ring onto his finger with a silent sigh of relief.

"Swift, Mischief, are we stocked up on all the potions we might need?"

Neville and Ginny nodded on concert. Surprisingly, Neville had turned out to be very good with plant based potions and often gave Ginny a hand, who had become the healer of their group. Unsurprisingly, she was also a hellcat in a fight and nobody wanted to face her when she was training with knives.

"All that leaves is you, Ice. I'd like you to consult with Paws for the upcoming battle. I'll be joining you myself a little later, I just want to finish that emergency fidelus ward I've been working on first."

Draco nodded, and Harry couldn't help grinning at him. In the past two years Draco had become as much his brother as Ron had, and Draco was the one he depended on the most. He had a diamond strength hidden in him and once you had his loyalty, he'd walk through fire for you. Without any of them realizing it, Draco had become Harry's second in command, and by the time they did realize it, it only seemed natural. Because of that, he and Draco shared a unique bond, often depending on each other for support.

Voldemort may not realize it, but he had alienated a powerful ally when he'd ordered the death of the Zabini family over the summer before 6th year. Blaise had been Draco's best friend from the time they had been children, and when Voldemort had ordered their family killed due to their neutrality, Draco had immediately defected to the light side. However, just because Draco had switched sides hardly meant that they had magically gotten along. No, it had taken a tragedy of nearly unimaginable proportions to bring them all together and make them see that the time for childish feuds was long past…

_October 31__st__, 1996_

_Harry bolted upright in bed, gasping for breath as sweat ran down his temples, his pajamas soaked straight through. He could still feel Voldemort's vicious joy echoing through his scar, the sick triumph and exhilaration causing him to break out in a cold sweat._

"_Something's wrong" he whispered numbly, terror starting to creep into his veins. "Ron," he hissed sharply, "Wake up! Something's happened." At any other time, he would have laughed at the befuddled expression his best friend wore as he crawled out from underneath the covers, but the sense of wrongness he felt pounded against him, growing stronger._

"_Harry, mate, what…"_

"_I don't know, something's happened, something's gone wrong. We need…"_

_Harry was cut off as the warning claxon rang loudly through the dorms, pulling everyone from sleep. The babble of voices quickly rose, blending into one as panic set in. Harry and Ron quickly headed down into the common room, searching for Hermione. They immediately found her attempting to organize the chaos and shared a quick glance of wry humor._

"'_Mione," Ron called out, quickly making his way to her side, "What's happening?"_

_Hermione gazed exasperatedly around the room, raising her voice as she answered. "If everyone would just settle down, Professor McGonagall should be up soon to tell us what is happening."_

_Harry winced as another sharp slash of pain echoed through his scar. Whatever was going on, he wasn;t expecting any good news. Hermione caught his expression and frowned, glancing worriedly at the common room entrance._

_Her expression cleared slightly as the portrait opened, admitting their head of house, her expression pinched tighter than normal._

"_Quiet down," McGonagall snapped sharply, waiting until the commotion had settled before continuing. She pursed her lips tightly together before taking a deep breath to continue. "Hogwarts is under attack by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Currently the wards are holding but they will not hold against him and his Death Eaters forever. Quiet!" She yelled, as the babble rose again, panic spreading through the students. "The floo networks have been shut down and anti-portkey wards have gone up. This, in addition to the anti-apparation wards Hogwarts already has means that our exits have been cut off. We will have to defend Hogwarts until the aurors arrive." McGonagall again raised her voice to be heard over the panicked murmurs. "Years 1 through 4 will remain in their towers under lockdown. Any of the older years may choose to remain with them as well. However, 5__th__ to 7__th__ years may choose to help defend Hogwarts – 5__th__ years will be able to help either from the ramparts or the infirmary, while 6__th__ and 7__th__ years are welcome to join the Professors in holding He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters back. The choice is entirely up to you, but you must choose quickly as the common rooms will go into lockdown in 15 minutes." She gazed at the students sadly for a moment before regaining her composure and quickly exiting the tower._

_Harry locked gazes with Ron and Hermione before nodding sharply. As he headed towards the exit, he knew Ron and Hermione were right behind him. He would defend Hogwarts to the death and he knew with absolute certainty that his best friends would be one step behind him the entire way. He was slightly surprised to see Neville and the rest of his year mates following him as well, but then again, what were Gryffindors but idiotically brave? "Good luck," he murmured to everyone as they set off towards the front entrance, knowing that by the end of this, he may never see some of his classmates again._

_*****_

_Hours later the aurors had finally arrived, driving off Voldemort and his followers, but it could hardly be called a victory. Harry forced the urge to be sick down as he limped among the injured and dead, searching for Ron and Hermione. They had become separated early on in the fight, and hadn't managed to find each other again. Harry reached up to wipe blood out of his eyes, where a cutting curse had glanced against his brow. He had also been hit by a bone breaking curse towards the end of the fight, and his left ankle was now throbbing in protest. A flash of red had him pivoting on his good leg._

"_Ron," he called frantically, feeling the relief overwhelm him when the others head came up, revealing it to be his best friend._

"_Have you seen 'Mione?" Ron called out hoarsely as he came towards him, allowing Harry to see the subtle tremors that the crutiatus curse left behind._

"_No," Harry admitted reluctantly, "You okay?"_

"_I'll be fine," he replied curtly, already going back to scanning the grounds for the missing member of their trio. _

_They both tensed slightly as they noticed Malfoy approaching. They blonde looked nothing like his impeccable pure blood self, and his superior attitude was missing completely. Blood trailed along one side of his face, and his clothing hung on him in disarray, one sleeve slowly dripping blood. "Your friend is in the hospital wing, but it isn't too serious," he spoke blankly, none of the usual hate and distain lacing his tone._

"_Thank you" Harry said slowly, still slightly shocked at his appearance, and as he looked closely, traces of tears still staining his cheeks. He nodded again in thanks and pulled Ron away before he had time to realize it was Malfoy who'd just been so polite to them. _

_They found Hermione in the hospital wing, arguing for early release as potions worked to heal the burn damage that covered her left arm and shoulder._

"_Harry, Ron!" She cried as she caught sight of them, "Are you okay?"_

_They glanced at each other in relief, answering "Well enough" together. They enlarged the bad before climbing on themselves, mindful of their injuries, and grateful they'd all made it through as they waited for Madame Pomfrey to see to them._

_*****_

_Later on it was a somber student body that gathered in the Great Hall, injured and missing students glaringly obvious. Dumbledore stood, for once lacking completely in any good humor._

"_Today the Dark made their first major strike and though we held our ground, it came at a staggering cost. Tonight, we gather missing many of our number, lost to us forever." Dumbledore paused, grief darkening his eyes further. "Filius Flitwick, Rubeus Hagrid, Ponema Sprout, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Pavarti Patail, Susan Bones, Li Su, Daphne Greengrass, Terry Boot…._

_*****_

_Harry sat, staring numbly into the fire that night, the names of the dead running endlessly through his mind. Both the 7__th__ and 6__th__ year had lost almost half their class, and even the 5__th__ year had lost almost a quarter of theirs. So many dead….And for what, he thought angrily, power?! He bit back a scream at the rage that tore through him, vaguely hearing something shatter. He whirled sharply, going for his wand when someone's hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Neville," he breathed, letting go of the tension, "You startled me."_

_Neville glanced around the room, forcing Harry to take notice of the damage his magic had done. "Maybe you should go to bed, Harry." He spoke softly, grief carving new lines in his face, "It's lonely enough up here as it is, and Merlin knows we'll be needing our sleep. The war is going to hit full force now…"_

_Harry felt a sharp pang again at the loss of Dean and Seamus. "Thanks, Neville," he said roughly, trying to keep tears at bay, "I'm glad you made it through today."_

_Neville nodded, "You too."_

Present Time

Harry swallowed around the lump in his throat. The Hogwarts Massacre, as it had come to be known, still stood out as one of the most brutal attacks in the past two years of constant warfare, though the fact that it had claimed so many _children's _lives is what made it stand out the most is his mind. Others probably wouldn't agree. Voldemort had killed hundreds at the 1997 Quidditch World Cup and the Ministry had almost been destroyed only two months after the Hogwarts Massacre. Two years later and they still weren't recovered. Harry shivered convulsively, feeling the weight of it all settle agonizingly onto his shoulders. _If only, if only, if only…_

A boisterous laugh jolted Harry out of his depression. "Hey, Tyr," Draco called, "Hurry up and get to work so you can give me and Paws a hand over here. We're not going to do all the work for you, Oh Mighty Leader."

Harry smiled faintly before heading over to his desk to work on the fidelius ward. At least he still had his family. Right now, it was enough. As much as he sometimes wished he had someone the way they all did, for now it was enough.

*****

October 31st, 1998

Harry glanced around the meeting room one more time, watching as people fidgeted and made last minute adjustments to their gear before they headed out. His team stood quietly at attention but he knew them well enough to see that the calm was only surface deep.

Everyone came to attention when Dumbledore entered the room, his normally colorful clothing forsaken for dark red battle robes. Harry watched as confidence seemed to fill people when their leader entered the room. _They're going to need it_, he thought darkly. He tuned Dumbledore out as he spoke to the Order, turning to face his team. Merlin, they were a sight to behold. Draco, his normally loose shoulder length blonde hair tied back, a belt of deadly colored vials around his waist and a rapier across his back. Ron, with his solid muscular build and scars littering his forearms, and a broadsword almost half his length. Ginny, her hair tightly braided with knives resting against her hips, lower back and forearms, and one probably tucked in each boot as well. Hermione with a whip coiled against her hip – Ron had gotten teased a fair bit when she had revealed her weapon of choice, not that she needed it - with a 5th Dan black belt in aikido her body alone was enough of a weapon. And finally Luna, who looked every inch a warrior with a quiver of arrows and a bow resting across her back. Every one of them a fierce fighter, and once again he found himself marveling at what they'd managed to accomplish.

"Tonight our target is Devon. Talon, any further visions on why we need to be there?"

"No, Tyr," Luna spoke, apology resting in her eyes.

"It's fine. We'll just have to be on our guard as always. Everyone knows the plan and what contingencies to use if something does go sideways on us?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then we're off. May the gods watch over us."

They all gathered around a piece of rope Hermione held out and waited for the portkey to activate.

5…4…3…2…1…

Harry felt the tug of the portkey behind his navel and prayed that everything would go smoothly, but as the roiling of his gut refused to subside, he was all but certain that the night was going to be anything but smooth.

*****

Harry hit the ground in a crouch, his teammates still arranged in a circle. He tensed as he took note of his surroundings – everything was quiet, even the night itself. He felt his muscles tense even more, something in him _screaming_ that something wasn't right here. "Everyone spread out and start scouting. Report back here in 5 minutes."

A scream rent the night almost before Harry had finished speaking, coming from the direction of the town square. Harry quickly broke into a run, darting from shadow to shadow, his team following silently behind him. More and more screams split the air and the flicker of flames became visible in the distance. He paused as he reached the edge of the town, crouching low for a moment and signaling the rest of his team to spread out and approach the town square from different angles. As his team mates melted from his side, Harry silently moved forwards until he reached the edge of the square, still hidden from sight. He clenched his jaw in an effort not to go charging in. The whole town was gathered together, the adults either bound or dead, while the youngest children were tied to a huge stone alter, shallow cuts gleaming on their bodies.

"Ritual," Harry breathed in dread, trying to recall which rituals would require the sacrifice of innocents in such numbers before giving it up as a lost cause. There were too many to count. As he took in the rest of the square he felt his blood run cold – every known high ranking death eater was here, which meant that Voldemort was here somewhere. There were no other raids going on tonight, or if there were then they were so minor as to make no difference at all. It had just been a diversion to spread the Order too thin. There was no way he and his team could take on this many Death Eaters and survive. Damn it! Why hadn't Luna seen this? Harry took a deep breath and forced himself to slowly start retreating. He needed to find his friends.

He'd barely made it 20 feet when he felt the wards snap into place – anti-portkey and apparition to name a few of the more problematic ones. He froze when he saw Voldemort moving towards the centre of the square.

"My loyal Death Eaters, it would seem that the little lions took the bait. You see Potter, the minute you and all your little friends entered the town, the wards were triggered."

"Dwaco, come play with your Auntie Bella, hmm?" Bellatrix cackled, before casting crucio on one of the nearby people, "Don't you want to save the poor pathetic mudblood?"

The surrounding Death Eaters chucked darkly, shifting eagerly as they waited for the coming slaughter. Because that's what it would be. With these odds it didn't matter how good his team was, it would still be a slaughter. There was only one choice left. He pressed his wand gently to his throat, "Sonorus."

"Ice, we're implementing plan delta. No arguments." His voice echoed across the square, and he cut the spell as he headed back towards Voldemort. This plan had more than a few flaws but it was the only one that had a chance in hell of getting them out of here alive. Hopefully someone had been far enough from the square when the wards snapped into place that they had been able to send a patronus unseen. Until the rest of the Order arrived for backup, Harry was going to have to force a confrontation to distract Voldemort and his merry band of men while Swift, Paws and Mischief would provide support from the shadows. It would be up to Talon, Flight and Ice to find a way to break the wards.

"Hello, Tom," Harry said casually as he walked out of the shelter of the surrounding buildings, "Fancy meeting you here. Think you'll be able to come out on top for once?"

Voldemort hissed angrily before visibly biting back his temper. "As it happens, Potter, you're the main guest this evening. I have something _very _special planned for you. Unfortunately for the rest of your little band of blood traitors, I have no use for them."

"I'm honored Tom," Harry said mockingly, staying in a defensive position as he tried to bait Voldemort into making the first move.

"I am Lord Voldemort!" he hissed, rage shaking his form. "Crucio!"

Harry dodged the spell and settled down to duel in earnest, chaining spells together while dodging the spells sent in his direction. He smiled slightly as he caught glimpses of his team picking off Death Eaters on the fringes. He was quickly thrown back to reality when pain suddenly screamed along his nerves, the crutiatus curse glancing his side. The pain kept increasing as another Death Eater joined the spell, and then a third. Seconds later Harry gratefully welcomed the bliss of unconsciousness.

*****

When he came to he found himself tied in the centre of the altar, his muscles still twitching and spasming from over exposure to the crutiatus. _Damn it, _he cursed, _I hope the rest of the team uses the good sense the gods gave them and they stay put! The last thing I need is another Marauder caught in an attempt to get me loose!_

"Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed lowly, pacing into Harry's view, "How the mighty have fallen. My loyal Death Eaters," he called, spinning to face his followers, "Behold, the wizarding world's precious savior. Bound. Helpless. Unable to fight back. And tonight, I will defeat him for good. For those of you lucky enough to witness this night, you are going to witness something that hasn't been seen in hundreds of years, a ritual lost to the past." He gestured dramatically to the altar, his cloak flaring as he spun, "Salazar Slytherin designed a ritual whereby a person was sent to a hell of their own personal imagining. When I uncovered this ritual, there was no one I felt deserved to experience it more than Harry Potter." He spun back to face Harry, his mouth stretched in a parody of a smile. "Don't you feel special Mr. Potter?" He spun before waiting for the response. "Lucius," he called imperiously, "the book."

Harry watched in trepidation as one of the black robes separated from the pack, approaching Voldemort with his head bowed, before he went to his knees when he reached him, offering up a book tattered with age without raising his eyes.

"You're dismissed, Lucius," he said curtly, already opening the book to a marked page. "And so we begin my loyal followers. Tonight, Harry Potter is no more!"

Harry couldn't help rolling his eyes at the massive cheer that rang through the Death Eaters, even as he grew more and more anxious about the coming ritual. If the Order didn't arrive soon he didn't want to contemplate the possible outcomes of this night.

"Though, I suppose before we begin, it seems a shame that we don't express our gratitude for your presence tonight," Voldemort said condescendingly as he turned to face Harry once more. "After all, it's not like the ritual calls for you to be in perfect health. _Fractus_," he hissed sharply, dark pleasure twisting his features at the sound of a bone snapping and a bitten back groan. "Have fun, my followers," he said, stepping back to give his Death Eaters clear aim. Smirked as the spells rang out, overlapping each other in the air, and the screams that soon joined them. "Enough," he called sharply, stepping forward after a couple minutes. "After all, we do need him alive for the ritual, if not in the best of health." He smirked at the figure now hanging from the supports that tied him to the altar. "And now we shall begin."

Harry bit back another scream as he moved slightly, trying to escape the pain that flooded his body. Several bones were broken, and blood slicked his skin from the various cuts and whip marks that covered his body. _Now that was not fun, _he thought acerbically, trying to find a place on his body that _didn't _hurt. A low chanting caught his attention and he slowly lifted his head, feeling as though it weight much more than it should have. He squinted through the blood dripping into his eyes, trying to focus on the figure he knew to be Voldemort, backlit by the flames.

_I mewn hon caddug_

_Argeisia 'r ffagla_

_Enaid at enaid _

Harry could feel the magic building with the low chanting, and he began to panic. The Order hadn't arrived yet and the ritual was almost complete! There was no telling what the ritual was going to accomplish. He didn't recognize the language, it rose and fell almost musically, something that seemed ironic when he considered what the language was being used for.

_Barwydennau oldragiedig ar wahan_

_Blwc a amsera ddileedig_

The volume began building, and Harry tensed as he realized the end of the spell was coming to a conclusion. _Damn it! The Order isn't going to make it in time and its suicide for the Marauders to make a move without their support. Looks like I'll be finding out just what this ritual does after all, _he thought fatalistically.

"_Ad ddim saf cyd-rhwng," _Voldemort called out harshly, his voice rising to a shout on the last syllables. A huge wave of power seemed to blanket the clearing, stilling everything, before it released abruptly, and Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world, disappeared in a flash of power and light.

*****

Harry groaned as he hit the ground after what seemed like hours of weightlessness, jarring his injuries. He tried to raise his head to take in his surroundings, but quickly gave it up as a lost cause. "Well," he whispered whimsically, "At least we know that that whole 'personal hell' thing was way off base. Now if only Hermione was here to tell me exactly what the ritual _did _do." He rolled on to his back, biting back a painful groan as his body protested. There was really nothing distinctive about him – the only things he could see was hills of grass and a blue sky, and something that might be a mansion in the distance. "Great," he murmured sarcastically, "Just great. I'm in the middle of nowhere, without my team, and injured. Can this day get any better?" He tried to lever himself up once more, knowing that he couldn't stay laying here the rest of the day, but that proved to be the last straw for his abused body. _I just had to tempt fate…of course this day can get better, _he thought sardonically as black swallowed his sight.

*****


End file.
